some sort of malicious strain of stupidity that runs straight through the Democratic Party

I definitely subscribe to the 'sons' theory, basically the generation that's successful appoint their shitty kids to positions of power purely based on connections rather than skill or merit, then get surprised when they're utterly incompetent and cause situations like this.

they're paid to lose whether they know it or not, there's a tacit understanding when their donners pay them to support unpopular positions and make stupid decisions